October 31, 2013

UA's Spielman to play football for Toledo

The Upper Arlington football team will need a win in its regular-season finale and help from others to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, but it shouldn't be the last time on a field for at least a few of its players.

Linebacker Chris Frey, who verbally committed to play for Michigan State over the summer, will be joined collegiately by the latest Division I recruit to come through the program, senior defensive lineman Noah Spielman.

While some may recognize the last name because his father, Chris Spielman, was one of Ohio State's all-time greats, the younger Spielman is in his third season as a key player for the Golden Bears.

The 6-foot-1 senior, who depending on reference has been listed as weighing between 230-250, verbally committed to play for the University of Toledo on Tuesday.

The Rockets are 5-3 and could end up in a Bowl game for the fourth consecutive season.

Toledo has gone 15-7 since Matt Campbell took over for the last game of the 2011 season. He is the second-youngest coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Campbell played for Division III perennial super-power Mount Union.

"The coaches are great and I think it's the best place for me," Spielman said.

Spielman gets one last chance to show his skills at the prep level when UA plays host to Dublin Coffman on Friday in what could be a win-or-go-home scenario for both teams.

Coffman is 14th and UA is 20th in Division I, Region 2 heading into their meeting, with the top 16 making the playoffs. Pickerington Central, which plays host to Gahanna, and Hilliard Darby, which is host to Hilliard Bradley, could be in with wins. The wild card is probably Lebanon, which is 7-2 and plays at 8-1 Springboro on Friday.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter at @ThisWeekSports throughout Friday night's action for updates on central Ohio teams and their playoff hopes.